The DIRECT LORDSHIP OF CHRIST over every believer and over the local Church. By this we understand that Christ exercises His authority over the believer and the local Church directly, without delegating it to another.
I want to walk our church through the seven Baptist Principles. These principles sit at the heart of our founding documents. You can find them on our website here.
Why now? Because we’re updating our constitution. We’ve changed the section on deacons, and soon we’ll be considering the section on elders. Before we talk about the mechanics of that change, we need to talk about the convictions that drive it. These principles aren’t old statements from church history. They’re the biblical framework how we live, lead, and make decisions under Christ.
In 1524 a young man named Conrad Grebel baptised a former priest named George Blaurock. As a believer. By full immersion. Back then, rebaptism was a capital crime. They broke the law because they believed one thing. Christ alone is head of His church. No king. No bishop. No pastor stands between Jesus and His people. And for that conviction they were martyred. What can we learn from them? To put anyone in the place of Christ is to steal His crown. And as baptists, we won’t do that.
As we change our constitution, the direct lordship of Christ is a guardrail. Elders lead, yes. But they lead under Christ, not over Him. The congregation submits, yes. But not to human opinions. To Christ’s voice. And the elders help the congregation discern that voice. So here is the balance the church must hold. The congregation has a responsibility to submit to the teaching of the elders. God gave them to you as shepherds. You do not follow your own whims. You follow Christ as they open His Word. But the congregation also retains the power to affirm. And to remove. You are not a flock without a voice. You are the final human court under Christ and His Word.
Colossians 1:18 declares this truth. [Jesus] is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. Jesus exercises His authority directly. You need no human mediator to tell you what Jesus wants. His Word tells you. Pastors do not possess His lordship. We point to it.
How does this shape us at Benoni Baptist Church? Elders do not run the church like a board of directors. We lead by discerning the will of the Head. Then we shepherd the flock toward it. The congregation does not vote like a democracy. You vote as a people seeking Christ’s mind. When we gather for big decisions, we are not doing church business. We are a body responding to the voice of our Lord.
You have no spiritual middleman. Your access to God does not depend on me or any other pastor. If a leader stumbles, your faith does not crumble. Because your faith was never in that leader. Jesus is actively leading this church. Personally. Directly. And He is leading you. That is not just a doctrine. It is your freedom. And your security.
So here is the question I leave with you. Who stands between you and Christ? No one. Then will you listen to His voice through His Word? Through His Spirit? Through the elders He gave you? And when the time comes to affirm or to remove, will you act as a people under the direct lordship of your King? This is our conviction. This is our freedom. This is our guardrail.